How toMake Gravy

Good gravy is more than just a sauce for the turkey. It brings all the elements of the Thanksgiving plate together, elevating mashed potatoes, stuffing and turkey to their transcendent ideals. You can use the classic method for making gravy, whisking it together at the last minute using the turkey pan drippings, or you can make the gravy ahead, then spike it later with the flavorful drippings. And visit our How to Plan and Cook Thanksgiving guide for more ideas and advice.

Before You Start

It's helpful to have a fat separator, which looks like a measuring cup with a spout. It lets you easily pour off the gravy and leave excess fat behind.

You can use a wooden spoon to make gravy, but you risk having a lumpy result. A whisk makes things smoother.

For the silkiest gravy, or for added insurance against lumps, strain your gravy before serving. Have a sieve on hand.

Drippings from brined and kosher turkeys may be too salty to use in gravy, particularly classic pan gravy. (If you add them to make-ahead gravy, do so slowly, tasting as you go.) Drippings from dry-brined turkeys work in any gravy.

The Stock

Whether you’re making classic last-minute gravy or our make-ahead recipe, remember this: great gravy can only come from great stock. It’s absolutely worth the time it takes to make your own turkey or chicken stock from scratch, but there are tricks to fortifying store-bought stock too.

Evan Sung for The New York Times

Homemade

To make your own stock, you first need poultry bones, either cooked or raw or a combination. Some of the bones should have meat on them, but most can be picked clean. I save my roast chicken carcasses in the freezer until stock-making day, and augment them with fresh chicken or turkey wings picked up at the supermarket. Two or three pounds of bones is plenty, but even a pound will give you enough stock to make gravy. If you’ve got turkey giblets from your bird (heart, gizzard, neck, anything but the liver), throw them into the pot with the bones and a big pinch of salt.

Add some vegetables and aromatics: a carrot, a leafy celery stalk, an onion and/or leek, a few cloves of peeled garlic, a bay leaf and/or some parsley stems, and a teaspoon of peppercorns.

Pour in enough water to cover all the solids by at least 2 inches. Then bring it up to a very gentle simmer and let it bubble for a couple of hours. I don’t bother skimming, but it won’t hurt if you do. Strain everything, pressing down on the solids, and chill for up to three days, or freeze for up to six months.

If you want to make a more intensely flavored stock, try this recipe by the chef Suzanne Goin, which calls for roasting the bones and the vegetables before they are combined with white wine and a red chile and simmered on the stove.

Store-Bought

If making your own is out of the question, you can come pretty close with a good-quality poultry stock purchased either from a butcher shop or a specialty shop (preferably one made in-house). You’ll often find premade stocks in the freezer case.

If the supermarket is your only option, the rule for canned stock, or stock sold in Tetra Paks, is to taste before using. If it’s terrible, you’re better off with a bouillon cube and water, which is a low bar but marginally better than water. As a last-minute fix for weak stock, simmer it with the turkey giblets for an hour or two. That will fortify it.

The Roux

Roux, a cooked mixture of equal parts flour and fat (butter, oil or pan drippings) is what thickens a gravy. Here's what you need to know.

A roux is made with equal parts fat and flour. If you’re making classic pan gravy, you’ll use the fat in the roasting pan. If you’re making gravy ahead of time, use butter, melting it in a medium pan over medium heat.

Either way, sprinkle in an equal amount of flour. (If you’re using butter, the ratio is 1/2 cup flour to one stick of butter.) Gently whisk the fat and flour together for at least 5 minutes, long enough for the raw taste of the flour to disappear. Keep cooking, whisking all the while, until the roux has reached your desired color.

The color of the roux determines what its flavor will be, and how effective it will be as a thickening agent.

A white or light roux, in which the flour is cooked briefly, will give you a mild mixture that lets the flavor of the poultry dominate. It’s also the most effective thickener. A dark, mahogany-colored roux adds an intense, caramelized, nutty flavor to the gravy, but sometimes at the expense of turkey flavor. Or strike a balance and cook the roux until medium brown, which will give you a nuttiness that still allows the poultry character shine.

Classic Pan Gravy

The gold standard for holiday cooking, classic gravy uses the pan drippings as the base for the roux, giving you the most intense turkey flavor you can get. Don’t try this with drippings from a wet-brined or kosher turkey; they may be too salty. Drippings from a dry-brined bird, however, should work just fine.This recipe calls for whisking flour with the fat in the bottom of the roasting pan to create a light roux, then hitting it with stock and wine, salt and pepper; you could also add cream, or other spices. Decant the gravy into a warmed boat or beaker, rather than into a cold one, and serve immediately.

Preparation

Pour off all but 7 or so tablespoons turkey fat from the roasting pan, and set the pan on the stovetop over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour over the fat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

Increase heat to medium high and add a little white wine, whisking as you go to let it reduce. Slowly add stock, stirring constantly, until the mixture is smooth. Cook, continuing to stir, until the gravy has thickened, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Make-Ahead Gravy

Making the gravy ahead gives you some peace of mind on this notoriously crazy cooking day, and the result is every bit as good as classic pan gravy. For enhanced flavor, spike the prepared gravy with pan drippings just before serving. Pour off any extra fat from the roasting pan, add a few tablespoons of water or wine to the pan and then set it over a pair of burners. Let the liquid simmer, scraping up the browned bits from the pan until they loosen, then pour the liquid into the gravy, adding them gradually and tasting as you go — particularly if you're using drippings from a wet-brined or kosher turkey, which may be very salty. But if you’re too harried trying to carve the bird and reheat side dishes, skip this step.

Preparation

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then add onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour on the onions, stirring constantly, and cook until flour is golden to brown. Adjust heat so mixture does not burn.

Gradually whisk in 4 cups stock until mixture thickens and is smooth. If it is too thick, add liquid. Cool, cover and chill.

When ready to serve, reheat mixture over low heat, stirring. Scrape bottom of turkey pan and add drippings or giblets to gravy. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve.

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